Bird of the Month: Northern Flicker
A flamboyant woodpecker
Northern Flickers, a member of the woodpecker family, are a sight for sore eyes any time of year, but perhaps even more so in the winter when their distinctive plumage stands out against a snowy backdrop.
Northern Flickers are year-round residents in most of the lower 48 states, including our region – additional migrators pass through Erie in spring and fall going to and from their northern breeding range. The species is divided into two subspecies: the red-shafted, which occupies the western half of the states and the yellow-shafted, which resides in the eastern states, including Pennsylvania. The different "shafts" refers to the color of the area around the central support of the primary flight feathers.
Besides their vibrant wing feathers, their muted-brown bodies are decorated with stripes on the back and black spots on the white front. They sport a gray cap and a red crescent-shaped patch on their napes and a black bib patch on the upper chest. Another distinctive field mark is their white rump, which shows in flight and makes it easy to identify. In addition, the male has a black malar stripe extending back from the bill. This field mark is also called a mustache or whisker.
Unlike other woodpeckers which typically eat insects while perched on the sides of trees, flickers are ground feeders, with an appetite for ants, which is their main diet. They also eat other insects and even fruit in the winter. They will come to your suet feeder in the winter, too.
Flickers are relatively easy to find since they occur in a wide variety of habitats, including urban areas. We often have them around our home and many are seen at Presque Isle and other natural habitats in the area, especially during migration. They are seen and heard especially in the spring when they're gearing up for nesting.
They are cavity nesters and either excavate a new cavity (they are partial to Aspen) or reuse existing ones if it suits them, after some refurbishing. Once complete, the female will lay, on average, about seven eggs. Once the last egg is laid, it's about 11 to 13 days until the chicks hatch. This seems like a short amount of time but, like many forest birds, flickers are altricial, meaning they are born with eyes closed, without feathers, and are entirely reliant on parents to feed them.
Flicker parents share incubation duties with the male doing more than the female. And males also spend more time tending to nestlings. So, like last month's bird, the Spotted Sandpiper, dad does a lot of chick rearing.
These dashing woodpeckers always cheer me up when I see them. It is no surprise that in French they are named "Pic flamboyant."
Mary Birdsong is the lead shorebird monitor for Erie Bird Observatory. Learn more at eriebirdobservatory.org. Mary can be reached at mbirdsong@eriereader.com
